Chiaksan -Bori Peak

I quite enjoyed my trip to Chiaksan.  The park seems more public friendly, with more signs and difficulty ratings for various parts of the hike are all described.  It was another day of great weather and I started cold but was soon carrying my coat.  At the peak, the wind was gentle enough that I rested there a bit before descending.

On the way to the parking lot, I found this sign.  I've seen signs for tanks elsewhere in Gangwondo but not in Sokcho-Yangyang and I was happy to finally photograph one.

I had likewise seen this type of caccoon elsewhere but hadn't taken a picture of it.  A coworker suggested that it was chemically tricking the tree into retaining the leaf, perhaps as a temperature control measure.  I have no idea what's inside it.

Handsome guy with no coat:

Please click to embiggen this picture.  I am quite proud of how the ice crystals turned out.

Near the peak, perhaps around 1000 metres, the snow crystals on the ground changed shape.  I am no Inuit, but I do recognize different types of snow.

At the peak:  Chiaksan is enough lower than Seoraksan, that despite the very steep climb and descent, my knees were not totally worn down.

After my hike, I drove around a little looking for a grocery store.  I didn't find one - I didn't look too hard- but I did find a reservoir where many people were having fun.  Some people were fishing for Bongeo - similar in shape and size to a smelt in Ontario- and kids were sitting on sleds and pushing them with spiked sticks - traditional sledding.

I have more photos and some video, but I will post those after returning home and using something other than this poor nine-year-old notebook.  It has served me well this camp, but it doesn't have many features (Thanks go out to Firefox, which has breathed new life into it.  Google Chrome won't run on it).

Cottaging on the Pickeral River

My plans for a big canoe or kayak trip were too ambitious- my friends were unable to join in them and I was too out of shape for prolonged paddling. Instead, we visited an uncle's cottage.
We rented a canoe at Grundy Lake Supply Post -they set us up well with a canoe and gear and are open until 8:00pm, which is much better than Swift Canoe rentals.
I want to also recommend the French River Visitor Area, which is between the French and Pickeral rivers on Highway 69. A lot of local history is described and displayed there but, it being built by the Ontario government, doesn't advertise much for fear of disrupting local businesses.

Anyway, we paddled for fifteen minutes to the cottage past lots of bare rock and bent-over pine. Some find it beautiful.

While there, my uncle taught his grand-nephew how to drive.
Near the cottage is a railroad and a tunnel was dug through a ridge of rock at some point. I have explored by flashlight the whole tunnel but on this day, we just peered into the opening.
Around my mother's house and in central Ontario generally, I have seen a lot of cormorants and no loons. I worried that the cormorants had out-competed the loons as both are fish-eaters. I was happy to see a pair of loons near the cottage.
Apparently, turtles are in decline. We saw eight of them in one day, so we were satisfied.
We also saw a small water snake that allowed us to get quite close.

Bear cubs in Jirisan

Once again, I was wrong.

In August, 2005, when bears were released into Jiri National Park, I predicted a quick and messy end to the experiment.

It soon appeared I would be proven right and that quickly.

However, some bears do remain and their numbers have increased by at least two:

Two female Manchurian black bears gave birth to cubs in the wild around Mt. Jiri in January after being released from captivity in 2005, the Ministry of Environment said, Monday.

The discovery represents the first time the bears have reproduced in the wild without the need for medical assistance, the government said.

The Korean National Park Corporation said both mothers, named Janggang and Songwon, are doing well. It was said that they have been sheltering in a cave since December after mating in May.

Congrats to the new mothers and I hope to continue to be wrong about the fate of these bears.

Oh, some Bear safety advice for Jiri hikers.

Via Bizarro Brian

I thought it was the non-Buddhists who were upset about the hiking fees.

The title is awkward or misleading, but "Buddhists angry again over temple entrance fees" in the Korea Times describes a problem that began two years ago.

Starting January 1, 2007, National Parks dropped their entrance fees but entry did not become free. Temples on the park grounds continued their fees (which had been about half of the original fee) and often increased them.

People have been upset about paying the fees to the temples when they visit the parks exclusively to hike and do not even go near the temples. More (actually, not much more, but..the same?) from this website at the time.

Finally, a group sued.

A provincial court’s ruling banning temples from collecting fees from mountain hikers has drawn strong protest from Buddhists.

The Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist sect in Korea, is even considering shutting down gateways to mountains owned by Buddhist temples.

The reaction came out after the Uijeongbu District Court ruled Tuesday that Jajaeam, a small temple on a mountain in Dongducheon, northeastern Gyeonggi Province, should return the entrance fee of 1,000 won ($0.65) each it had imposed on 22 climbers, who jointly filed a suit last August.

Commenters at the Korea Times are disgusted that the hikers are upset about such a small amount of money. I understand their (the commenter's) feelings but wonder if the hikers are more concerned about supporting Buddhism.

As a foreigner, Buddhism, even after ten years in-country, is novel and exciting for me. I don't mind giving them a little support.

At the same time, I am an atheist and unwilling to support religion in general and would not be eager to pay the fee if it supported a Christian church, for example. I understand that my viewpoint is contradictory but I hope it is not hypocritical. I am for supporting the temples for purely cultural reasons, even though I do not want to support any religion.

If the weather is good, I'll be hiking tomorrow at Seoraksan and I'll let you know about the fees there.

Free entry to national parks? Not really

Since the beginning of 2007, the Korean government has made entry to its parks free.

Since the beginning of 2007, the Buddhist temples residing in the parks have begun collecting increased fees at the gates.

The result is a slight decrease in the total entry fee (and it wasn't very high to begin with).

Still, hikers who are there simply to climb are less than eager to pay fees for temples they won't visit. For me, the only problem would be waiting for the ticket booth to open in morning or trying to climb over the gate (I like to start my hikes, even short ones, early).

So far this year Odaesan, between Yangyang and Gangneung, has had about 90,000 more visitors than the same period last year (455, 854 people over 364, 290 last year). The increase is attributed to the reduced fees.

The Jogye Order, the nation's largest Buddhist organization, collects money from climbers in national parks where its temples nestle.
The group insists that it is inevitable to levy fees on climbers because its temples occupy 8.9 percent of national parks and require funds to maintain roads leading to the temples and cultural assets.
``We can't help but charge some fees because the temple surroundings are ruined as more climbers stream in since the government abolished admission fees,'' an official of the Jogye Order said.
He said they will protect their property rights, saying roads, camp sites and parking lots on the group's land, which the government built without the order's agreement, are illegal.
``Unless the government restores the ruined nature around temples, we will call for compensation.''
About 19 other temples in national parks levy fees of up to 3,000 won, almost double the admission fees the government levied previously.
Some temples impose toll fees on cars running on roads near temples, arguing they pass through land owned by the temples.

I'm torn on the subject.
I was (somewhat) surprised to learn that the government had built illegal roads and such and can see that the temples need to raise funds to maintain their grounds. Asking the congregation to pay is not reasonable as these are tourist sites and most visitors have no connection to the temple, or any temple.

Still, reading that some temples now charge double the government's admission fee and are making toll roads damages the temples' credibility.

Letting the developers into the parks

The Korea Times discusses a bill currently being evaluated that would open National Parks for development.

A bill that would allow seven national parks to be developed without concern for the environment is under consideration in the National Assembly, triggering a dispute among government offices, civic groups and lawmakers.

According to the Ministry of Environment, the Assembly’s Construction and Transportation Committee is likely to endorse the bill, which applies mainly to the development of the south and east coast, on Monday.

The bill would make studies on the environmental effects of construction in these areas non-binding.

The seven areas to be affected are Mt. Chiri, Hallyo, Wolchul, Kaya, Tokyu and
Naejang national parks.

...

``Seventy percent of wildlife lives in the national parks, which account for 6.6 percent
of the nation’s territory. It is an international trend to preserve the environment rather than
develop it, and the bill will surely destroy that,’’ Yoon Guk-gu, the National Park Service public relations director, said.

More than 151 civic groups in South Kyongsang Province gathered Friday to declare that
the bill would bring a development craze to rural areas, which would not benefit local residents. It is not a step toward sustainable development, they said.

I discussed development of Kyeongpo Provincial Park, comparing it to Haeundae, almost exactly a year ago and I agree with the civic groups. The money will at least leave the rural areas and may well leave Korea entirely.